Zagreb, 28 November 2012 - COC / Assembly of the Croatian Olympic Committee, in accordance with the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Charter, founded on its 31th session, held on July 9th, 2012, the Athletesâ€™ Commission of the COC. The Commission that became a new body of the COC, held the inaugural session two months later, on October 11th 2012, after the preparation of the election of its members among athletes.

Gordan Kožulj, quadruple Olympian (Atlanta Olympics 1996, Sydney Olympics 2001, Athens Olympics 2004, Beijing Olympics 2008) was elected the first President, representing the views of the Commission as a member of the Council for a time period 2012 – 2016. The tasks of the Commission, defined by the COC Statute which was, exactly because of the formation of the Commission, amended in July this year, are above all articulating the proactive role in creating domestic and international Olympic movement and sports.

Among other things, the Commission should deal with the education of athletes during their active carrier but also after the athlete to athlete education topics, during their active career but also in after-period, topics and projects on fair-play relations, discrimination and violence in sports, doping and other interdisciplinary activities and the impact of the COC in Croatian society.The goals of the Commission are aimed at boosting relations with the Athletes’ Commission of the IOC, Athletes’ Commission of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) as well as with the Croatian Olympians Club with more than 800 Olympians, which is also the mother club of every Croatian Olympian. The Commission will cooperate with the Sports Commissions of the National Sports Federations (NSF), whose establishment is in progress and with which the Commission will share knowledge and experience in nurturing the positions of former, current and future Croatian top athletes.According to the provisions of the COC Statute, the Commission will consist of six elected representatives from the summer Olympic sports, with an obligation that these representatives are three male and three female athletes, one male athlete and one female athlete as two representatives from the winter Olympic sports and, also with obligation of male and female athlete, two representatives of non-Olympic sports. The Croatian athletes who are members of the Commission EOC Commission like Gordan Kozulj since 2009, are also, by function, the members of the Athletes’ Commission of the COC. The mandate of the Commission members is four years and the elections are organized by voting of the Croatian athletes participating at the Olympics, as it was carried out for the first time for the representatives for the Summer Olympics London 2012.

Mandate of the representatives of Winter Olympics lasts until the Winter Olympics Sochi 2014, when the Olympians will choose at the Games two of their representatives.Mandate of the representatives of Summer Olympics lasts until the Summer Olympics Rio 2016, when the Olympians will choose at the Games two of their representatives.